


this is where it starts

by autisticlalna (mathonwys)



Series: DSMP-2 AU [3]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Tales From The SMP - Fandom
Genre: (a little bit.), Breaking the Fourth Wall, DSMP-2 AU, Gen, Kinoko Kingdom on Dream Team SMP (Video Blogging RPF), Not RPF, Self-Insert, Tales From the SMP - The Haunted Mansion, Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, Web Series: Tales from the SMP, no beta we die like wilbur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29969094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathonwys/pseuds/autisticlalna
Summary: Karl was gone right now. Vanished. Landia had no idea where he went, and neither did Sapnap or George or Bad. If they were ever going to find out anything for certain, this was their chance.-Landia does some breaking-and-entering.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs & Landia (OC)
Series: DSMP-2 AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204193
Kudos: 4





	this is where it starts

**Author's Note:**

> so, as a fun fact, when i first conceptualized Landia their gimmick was that Leonaut was going to be the one actually involved in lore and Landia was gonna just goof around in the background and be a bit of a nuisance in Kinoko. Lan was straight up not intended to have any plot whatsoever!
> 
> ...and then i accidentally gave them plot. agh.
> 
> (i backdated the first couple fics, so: this is an AU where my friends and i's minesonas are set loose on the dream smp! problems ensue.)

_“You were exploring the library— You didn’t find anything hidden, did you?”_

_“Uh, no?”_

They’d been telling the truth— Landia, newest member of the Dream SMP alongside their brother Leonaut, hadn’t found any hidden secrets in the library at Kinoko Kingdom. They’d gotten close, and they _knew_ something was under one of those trapdoors, but they didn’t want to risk drawing fire if they stumbled across something strictly off-limits.

They knew something was there. They knew something was up with Karl and how he kept vanishing for random periods of times. They knew something was wrong when they’d found him passed out on the ground floor of the library, and they knew something was wrong when Sapnap told them this wasn’t the first time that’d happened.

Karl was gone right now. Vanished. Landia had no idea where he went, and neither did Sapnap or George or Bad. If they were ever going to find out anything for certain, this was their chance.

The wooden trapdoor was latched shut when they tugged on it. The ring looped on their tail clinked as Lan swished their tail from side to side; they scrunched up their face as they crouched down and pulled on it again just to make sure it was locked. Must be something on the inside. Did they want to risk breaking it? They hated messing with stuff, but if they were _already_ breaking the rules… 

Landia retrieved their axe from their inventory, thought about it, then set it down before rolling their shoulders, grabbing the metal ring attached to the trapdoor, and giving it one more pull. They grunted as they put all their strength into the action; there was a worrying creaking sound of wood being put under stress, and then the trapdoor popped open with a clatter that sent Landia sprawling. Looks like they didn’t need their axe after all. Oh, jeez, did they break it? Lan checked the lock over, then let out a sigh of relief when it looked undamaged. Must’ve gotten stuck, rather than locked.

Their hands were sweaty from nerves as they descended down the ladder. Whatever was down here was something they hadn’t seen before, and was something Karl was very strict that no one, absolutely **_no one_** , was allowed near. They didn’t know what to expect. What sort of secrets could Karl, of all people, be hiding?

After a short descent, Landia bumped up against the floor with one foot and dropped the rest of the way down. The room was dimly lit; they could make out the vague outline of shelving up against the walls, but that was about it. They lay their ears back as they slowly crept forward. What _was_ this place?

Something on one of the shelves caught their eye, and Landia fumbled with it before discovering it was a lantern. The bright illumination stung after their stint in the dark, but was welcome anyway; now able to see better, they set about lighting the other lanterns scattered about the room before turning around and taking in the full scope of it.

It was a library. Landia wasn’t sure what they were expecting. This whole dang _place_ was a library. Still, it felt… _different_ from the one up above their head. Not just because it’d been hidden, either. There was something here that they felt, deep down, and for a moment something flickered through their mind— 

[ _Oh, shit, this is Karl’s library. The Tales library._ ]

—No reason to think about how they knew that, or why. What mattered was that this was somewhere important that they definitely shouldn’t be, and should probably leave as fast as possible. They weren’t going to, obviously. Landia came this far, they might as well go all the way.

There weren’t as many books down here as there were in the other rooms of the library. There was only a handful, each hand-bound in purple-stained leather with a green swirl stamped on the front; they were in immaculate condition, and rather hefty in size. Landia picked one up and scanned the name on the spine. _The Masquerade_. No note of who wrote it, but Landia was pretty sure they knew who. Their suspicions were confirmed when they opened the book and found the pages jam-packed with Karl’s handwriting.

The first few pages were tidy enough: a summary of what awaited in the book in their hands. _A group of rich people come together to party, or so they thought. What began as a group of friends having fun developed into a nightmare for many…_ Landia mumbled the words to themself as they read. Past that, the pages were more like a scrapbook or a journal meshed with a novel. It went into details of a first-hand account of the party, annotated in the margins with scrawlings of corrections or comments and small doodles of people or items as they became relevant. It was less a fairytale and more like somebody— like Karl— had dumped out the contents of his brain onto the paper.

Hands a bit shaky, but excitement building inside them, Landia closed the book and moved on to the next. _The Village That Went Mad_. _The Town That Never Was_. Each of them were the same as the first: a riveting story, told in as much detail as possible, like every smallest aspect was as important as the overall picture. There was a strange difference, though, that gave them pause. The last two they’d looked through were written from an observer’s perspective, rather than someone in the thick of things like in _The Masquerade_. The author was barely an active character in _Village_ save for a messy note of _Maybe I can try for a better outcome. Maybe I can do this over_ implying he’d done… _something_.

They were halfway through _The Beach Episode_ (another one where Karl was an observer rather than a participant, although at least here he tried to guide everyone rather than just being a bystander) when a sudden sound snapped them out of it. Panic flashed through them, and without thinking Landia snapped the book shut and bolted for the ladder. Blinding light behind them bathed the room in a swirling mixture of purple and green as they scrambled up the rungs. Not looking back, Landia launched up out of the entrance to the hidden library and slammed the trapdoor shut. Sapnap gave them a curious look as they breezed past him without even a glance his way. They didn’t slow down until they were in their room, safe and sound.

_Too close_. Landia leaned against the wall, close to wheezing, as they tried to recuperate from their daring escape. It wasn’t until they sat down on their bed and looked down that they realized they were still holding the book. _Oop_. That’s not good. Great, not only had they broken into Karl’s secret library, they’d _stolen_ from it. They were gonna be in so, so much trouble.

[ _Well, I didn’t do it on-camera, so maybe no one will notice?_ ]

They kicked open their ender chest and stuffed the book inside, then slammed the lid closed and braced themself on it as they took in a few breaths. They’d just have to wait until Karl went MIA again to return it. Better to keep it in their chest so there wasn’t any risk of them losing it to a creeper. Everything’s fine! They’ve got this. It’s fine.

It’s fine.

  
  
  


Things weren’t going to plan. Okay. That’s fine.

Karl had found their axe. The axe that they’d left by the trapdoor. That axe. Karl found it. That wasn’t great, but he didn’t seem to think it was a red flag or anything. He bought Landia’s explanation that they’d lost it— they didn’t want to consider it a lie, because they hated the thought of lying to Karl— and it didn’t get brought up again.

There wasn’t an opportunity for them to go back down into the hidden library. They kept an eye out for an opening, but it was pretty much impossible; even if Karl wasn’t around, someone else was, or they’d be busy somewhere else, or something would come up as soon as they had a plan in place. It just plain wasn’t working out, despite their best efforts.

The book sat in their ender chest, untouched and weighing heavily on their mind. If Karl saw it missing, he didn’t say anything about it. Landia hoped he wouldn’t. The last thing they wanted was for Karl to start blaming people.

They really should just come clean at this point. The thought of disappointing Karl kept freezing them in their tracks every time they considered it. They owed him a lot— friendship, a home, support— and if he found out they breached his trust, they didn’t know what he’d do. The longer time went on, though, the more likely he’d find out on his own.

Finally, after days and days, something in Landia snapped. Screw it! They’d just have to play downright risky. Karl hadn’t left for a while, but he wasn’t in the library. Neither Sapnap or George knew about the trapdoor, so it’s not like they’d stumble across them. They’d just have to bite the bullet and get it over with.

They gripped the book tightly in both hands as they skittered down the stairs. They could hear voices from outside, George and Karl’s among them; they kept an eye trained on the door as they sneaked over to the mushroom at the back of the library, heart pounding, just in case they saw movement. Coast was clear. The trapdoor opened easier this time, and Landia allowed themself a half-second to steady their nerves before they dropped down and closed the trapdoor behind them.

The lanterns in the library were still lit, this time. There was something electric in the air that made their hair and fur stand on end; Landia shifted their weight from paw to paw, jaw clenched, then darted over to the conspicuously empty shelf among the rest. A weight lifted as soon as they set the book down, and a relief sigh dragged its way out of Landia and left them slumped on the shelf as they relaxed. Mission complete. And no one knew!

They really should just book it out of here before they were down to the wire. Landia’s gaze trailed over to one of the books they hadn’t been able to look at yet. There was a new book among them, too, from the looks of it. Landia clicked their tongue as they thought, then crept over to look at them both. _The City of Mizu_ caught their eye first, and then _The Wild West_. Did they have time to risk a peek? No. …Yes.

_Mizu_ was different. Every other book had been set in the past, but this one told a tale of a hundred years in the future, where everything on the SMP had been swept away and was nothing more than half-forgotten memories dug up by their successors. They read over the summary, biting their lip as they did so, and started to connect dots. All of the different dates, Karl’s mysterious disappearances, the fact that they were in both past and future, the new book… Something weird was going on.

Speaking of time, they’re running out of it. Landia put the book back before they could get too deep into it. No point in repeating their mistake when they’d just fixed it. They kept their ears perked for any sound that could alert them for an unwelcome surprise as they extinguished the lanterns and turned to go; so far the coast was staying clear, but their good luck could only last them for so long.

Something caught their eye. Landia turned back around, slow and careful, as they spotted an item frame they’d overlooked. It was on one of the empty shelves, where a book should go— where a book probably _will_ go, soon— halfway out of sight, easy to overlook. Landia would’ve passed over it entirely if not for the soft cyan glow now highlighted in the dark.

The rational part of them, the part of them terrified of retribution, begged them to go and not worry about it.

The part of them that’d gotten them into this mess in the first place really, _really_ wanted to see what it was.

The second part won. Landia stepped over, careful in the dark, and picked up the item resting on the shelf. A compass? Not just that, but a compass with a shimmering cyan aura that reflected off the iron casing as they turned it over in their hands. It reminded them of the glow on enchanted armor and weapons, but that was _purple_ , not blue. Why was it blue?

[ _Wait, it’s only blue on bedrock? What? Okay, we’re keeping this. Only good things can happen if we take this._ ]

The blue glow wasn’t the weirdest thing about it, somehow. The needle— a surprisingly intricate design— had been spinning idly when they first spotted it. Now, no matter how they turned it or where they walked in the room, it was pointing at _them_. Not at spawn, not at anyone or anywhere— _them_. They weren’t really sure how lodestone compasses were supposed to work, but they were pretty sure this wasn’t normal. It was also pretty ominous.

_Maybe I can ask Alcove about it?_ Landia scratched the back of their head. The compass felt warm and comforting in their palm; it was small enough to fit in their hand comfortably, but at the same time had enough weight to it that they weren’t worried about accidentally chucking it across the room or anything. Probably sturdy enough to survive being dropped, too. That’s always good. They’re a bit of a klutz, and it’d suck if they found a super rare magic thing only to immediately wreck it because they tripped going downstairs.

The closest they got to an answer on what it could be was the engraving on the back— an angular swirl. Not the same as Karl’s, though. The line started from the top, not the side— or maybe they were just holding it wrong? Ugh, this would be easier to figure out if there was a “this side up” or something. Either way, it was just familiar enough to give them pause.

…Actually, it reminded them of the pattern they’d added to their jacket after they officially joined Kinoko. Landia twisted around to try and get a look, but it didn’t really work considering it was still dark in here and they weren’t flexible enough to see the back of their jacket without taking it off. Well, they could figure it out later. They just needed to go before— 

The compass needle spun around a few times, then pointed to the ladder. Landia looked up just in time to see someone drop down, and then bright light— purple and green— illuminated Karl’s shocked face. They opened their mouth to say something, to give some sort of excuse, to say _anything_ , but before they could form a single syllable, before Karl could finish saying their name, the light flared and everything else was erased.

  
  
  


When Landia next opened their eyes, they were somewhere else entirely. They scanned their surroundings as their brain booted back up and noted that they were in some sort of cabin. There were voices, somehow both familiar and unfamiliar, in the next room over; they strained to identify them, but came up with nothing asides from one of them _maybe_ being Connor? They didn’t know a whole lot about Connor, asides from him sometimes stopping by Kinoko, but that _might_ be him. …Maybe.

Karl was sitting sprawled across from them, a hand to his head, eyes half-lidded and swirled pupils softly glowing. After a few moments, the unnatural light in his eyes flickered and faded. He blinked slowly, looking dazed, then locked eyes with the anxious teen in front of him. Lan returned his shocked and somewhat horrified expression with a sheepish smile and a wave. “Uh. Howdy?”

There wasn’t enough time to explain. They both had a ton of questions to ask each other, but before either of them could start the door opened. In quick unison, they both looked up to see Connor in the doorway; he looked equally surprised to see the pair, and Landia braced themself to get chewed out.

Instead, Connor beckoned the both of them out into the other room and into the middle of a scene without too many questions on how they’d gotten here in the first place.

Landia’s head spun as they tried to keep up with all the information thrown at them in the next five minutes. They were in a cabin Connor had rented out with a bunch of friends they’d never met, there was a whole pile of people they had to learn and remember the names of, they’d accidentally crashed a party, and they were maybe a couple months to a year in the future. It was a lot to take in. They could hardly find their footing, but no one around them seemed to notice their dismay as they struggled with the situation.

They’d time traveled. With Karl. Karl Jacobs was a time traveler, and now Landia was too.

The compass in their hands was a reassuring weight and warmth. Landia kept to the corners of the room, still unused to being in large groups, and kept a tight hold on the item as they watched Karl seamlessly blend into the chaos like he belonged there. He must be used to this. If the books were any indication, he’d been time traveling for a while; adapting to being dropped into the middle of situations must be second-nature by now.

Landia wished they could say the same. Part of why they stuck to the outskirts, back in present day, present time, was because they got overwhelmed way too easily. If they were just messing around in the background, there weren’t any expectations on them to learn everything or respond appropriately or keep up with what was going on. Now, though, they were in the spotlight. …Somewhat. _Karl_ was in the spotlight, and as the other time traveler along for the ride, Landia was all too aware of the eyes on them.

[ _Please please_ **_please_ ** _don’t screw this up. This is our chance! Oh, god, performance anxiety. Oh, god, everyone’s going to be judging me. I can do this I can do this I can do this. I just gotta stay in character, and take it easy, and prolly just let everybody else take point while I try to not lose my shit._ ]

All they needed to do was follow Karl’s lead.

…Even if they kept getting curveballs thrown at them.

Like Schlatt.

Landia never really met Schlatt, on account of him being dead. The most they knew about him was that he used to date Quackity, and that he was Mags’s dad. Both of those points were relevant to them, seeing as Mags had cobbled together the logic of “my dad used to date Quackity, Quackity is dating Karl now, Karl adopted you, therefore you’re my little brother now!”

They weren’t totally sure if they should spring that knowledge on the ram himself. Especially in front of Karl. That would raise way, way too many questions, in their opinion, and Karl was already juggling everything else going on without Landia throwing in more fuel to the fire.

(That didn’t stop them from needling Schlatt about his kid now and then, until the ghost got sick of their nonsense and threatened to kidnap them like he’d kidnapped Connor and, later, everyone who’d put the nether stars in place after each trial. Mortified, Landia shut up and didn’t say much for the rest of the tale.)

Finally, after all the stress and trials, after losing so many to the malevolent ghost, and after a lot of broken parkour that was definitely not intended, they’d done it. Landia watched Karl descend into the depths of the mansion, squared their shoulders, and followed suit. Time for the final confrontation. Time to take on Schlatt (hopefully Mags wouldn’t mind), save their friends, and rewrite history! …Or the future! Whichever!

That was the plan, anyway. The plan fell apart nigh-instantly, although not for reasons Landia— or Karl— expected.

No one had been in danger the entire time. Schlatt was throwing Connor a party, and had played up the more frightful aspect of things because he was bored and lonely and wanted to have some fun with everyone. Everyone was fine, and safe, and there wasn’t anything to worry about. Landia covered their mouth as they started to laugh, breathless, as all the tension abruptly vaporised. Everyone was okay! Everything was fine!

Karl wasn’t taking it as well as they were. Landia’s giggling trickled away to nothingness as the other time traveler shouted at Connor and Schlatt in genuine frustration. They’d never seen Karl legitimately _angry_ before, and if they were honest with themself it was _terrifying_.

Everyone else was too busy talking and joking and yelling to pay him any mind as Karl backed up into the corner, eyes bright and furious. Lan’s own eyes widened as they saw Karl’s form warp and distort around the edges. Colours bled off of his hoodie like ink in water and swirled about in blocky patterns unlike anything they’d seen. Landia locked onto the sight, locked onto the stressed expression on Karl’s face, and launched towards him right as Karl broke apart and everything was swept away in a flash flood of colour that sent them tumbling head-over-heels into time outside of time.

“ ** _KARL!_** ” Landia screamed. Their voice didn’t carry, didn’t even leave their mouth. Everything was searingly bright, colours and patterns interweaving as they fell, and a migraine stabbed through their skull as they pressed the heels of their palms against their forehead to try and block all of it out.

Just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Landia was back in the library. They were sitting against a wall, hunched up, with their head in their hands and a throbbing headache that, bit by bit, drained away. 

When they opened their eyes, they were alone. There was no sign of Karl.

  
  


Anxiety thrummed in their veins as they clambered up the ladder and dragged themself out of the trapdoor. “Karl?” they asked, voice wavering. Where was he? If they were back, then Karl should be too, right?

…Right?

Okay, keep it together. Landia scouted through the entire library, then the flower field outside for good measure. Even a quick jaunt into the Nether and some of the Greater Dream SMP didn’t bring up any sign of him. Near frantic, they retraced their steps to the library and paced about as they tried to steady their nerves.

It wasn’t working. Landia leaned against the massive mushroom in the library, heart pounding as they sank back down to the floor. Karl was gone. Where was Karl? Why was Karl gone? Why were _they_ back, but not him? Did something happen? Was it their fault? What was going on?

Their head hurt. Not because of the migraine, this time— there was just too many thoughts taking up space, too much information overwhelming them, too much of _everything_. They were trying to hold it together, they really were, but the knowledge of being _alone_ only made their thoughts spin faster. The voices from the flower field they’d heard earlier (how much earlier? How long had they been gone? Did it matter?) were silent, and the library felt hollow.

The compass. Landia dug through their inventory in a flurry of terror, and relief cascaded down on them as they spotted the cyan glow of the object they were currently using as their lifeline. They held it close to their chest as they tried to steady their breathing.

While at the haunted mansion, the compass needle had pointed them to what they needed. It had pointed them towards the nether stars they needed to collect to save Connor. When they got lost following everyone down the path to the mansion, it had pointed them towards their destination. When they got overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do, it had pointed them towards Karl. It had kept them grounded and kept them focused on their objective, even as things got more and more dire (even if the danger was imaginary, in the end).

They thought at it as hard as they could— _tell me what I need to know, show me what I need to know, where’s Karl, point me where I need to go_ — and looked down at it with barely-restrained hope.

The compass needle spun in place.

Their face fell. Landia crumpled like a wet paper bag and tried to avoid screaming in frustrated anguish. Of _course_ it wouldn’t tell them anything useful. Of _course_ it didn’t know where Karl was. Of _course_ they shouldn’t be relying on something they didn’t fully understand. What were they _thinking_?

…What if Karl was lost in time because of them?

The thought nearly broke them right then and there. No. No, they just needed to stay calm. Karl would be back soon— even getting stabbed hadn’t slowed him down, according to _The Masquerade_. Besides, he’d been traveling for ages now. Even with Landia being an unforeseen spanner in the works, there was no way just having an enthusiastic catboy along for the ride would derail things _that_ badly.

Maybe they could find out more information in the hidden library. Landia eyed the trapdoor with unease. They’d already caused trouble with trespassing, but… If they could find out what happened to Karl, or literally anything on the power both of them now shared, then that would be a start.

The descent into the basement library was tense. It was the same as they’d left it— handmade books in place on the shelves, an empty item frame where the compass previously had been, and empty of life save for themself. Landia flipped through the books in search of any information that could help, but they were focused more on the events taking place than they were about the mechanics behind Karl was there in the first place.

There was no way this could be a dead end. Landia started examining the room itself more closely. Maybe there were some hidden buttons or switches? Did Karl know how to make piston doors? There had to be _something_ they were overlooking. There had to be.

The compass. Landia expected it to still be spinning uselessly, but it was now pointing to the far wall. Landia frowned, then squatted down and patted around for something hidden. Their fingers brushed against unexpected carpet; Landia flinched at the sudden texture, then lifted it up to spot smooth wood underneath. Their eyes lit up as they realized what they’d just found. A chest! It was sunken into the floor, and the carpet blended in to the floor to where there’s no way they would’ve found it on their own if they weren’t scouring every nook and cranny.

Well, time to see what Karl was hiding in here. Landia pried open the lid with some difficulty and was greeted with the sight of several books. They weren’t nearly as fancy as the books containing the tales; they didn’t have the spiral stamp or the purple binding, and were incredibly plain like most books on the server unless someone went through the effort to customize them. Hands shaking a bit from a cocktail of excitement and anxiety, Landia retrieved one of the books and opened it.

Karl’s handwriting greeted them, although far messier than the careful strokes he used in the summaries.

> _Diary #2_
> 
> _The inbetween._   
> _A place I don't quite understand. I feel like I've been there before, but I can't put my finger on it._ _  
>  I can't keep losing my memory. And it seems like every time I go to the inbetween it happens, but I can't just stop going._

Landia skimmed the entry, eyes widening the further down the page they got. They’d found Karl’s diaries. But… what did any of this mean? What was the inbetween?

> _Don't forget yourself._

Trembling, Landia closed the book with a _snap_ and put it back in place among the rest. They wanted to read more— wanted to know the full story— but they couldn’t bring themself to. All of their suspicions they’d been accumulating since becoming part of Kinoko were confirmed at once: Karl wasn’t just forgetful, he was _losing his memory_. And, somehow, time travel was involved.

Mouth drawn into a thin line, Landia closed the chest and put the carpet back in place over it. The mention of the inbetween lodged itself in the back of their mind like a pebble in their nonexistent shoe: it was going to keep bothering until they did something about it, but they had no idea _how_. It still didn’t explain why Karl was missing, either, unless those two dots were connected somehow.

Was Karl in the inbetween right now? Could they even do anything about that? Landia found themself pacing again, compass in hand and once again spinning without any direction. Maybe all they had to do was wait. Maybe tell Sapnap and George— 

No. Landia scrunched their eyes shut and shook their head as they came to a stop. No, they couldn’t tell them. Karl had gone through so much effort to hide all of this; it wasn’t Landia’s place to blow it all open. They sat down on the floor and hunched over with a tired sigh. This was hard. They never wanted to be caught up in anything like this, but here they were.

[ _Man, what a way to finally get involved in server lore._ ]

[ _…He’s taking a break from streaming for a bit, right? Maybe I should leave it off here. There’s not anything I can do but wait, either way._ ]

Landia’s posture relaxed. They’d just… They’d just wait here. Maybe Karl would be back soon. If he was gone for too long, _then_ they’d start spreading word of his disappearance, but… For now, this was normal. Karl would vanish for a couple days, and then return like nothing happened. This was normal. The only thing different is now they knew _why_ he vanished.

One last look at the compass. The thing that’d gotten them into this mess. The needle continued to spin, slow and steady, a far cry from the frantic blur it had been earlier. Landia’s eyes fluttered closed as they leaned back against the wall, and in a few moments they dozed off.

[ _Okay, time to see how everybody else is doing. Let’s see, rejoin VC…_ ]


End file.
